Record-Breaking Thread

Saturday - And the Tribe drops the opener to Seattle, even with Kluber on the mound. :-P~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For the record, I refuse to become emotionally attached to ANY Cleveland sports team at this point. I'll follow them and I might even be pleased when they perform well, but I've been burned entirely too many times to get all hot and sweaty, only to have ice water dashed in my face.

You've worn out the old tires after only two years? Must have been fun.

I was going to change the tires on my cars, but it's been just to damn cold still. Can't seem to get much above freezing.

Oh, I had my fun here and there, though I can't say I've been tear-assing around all THAT much. In any case, I'm very curious to see if Tire Rack will recommend anything OTHER than the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S3+ as a replacement for the P Zero Neros. My suspicion is that they won't.

Tires are ordered (and yes, the Pilot Sport A/S3+s seem to be THE hot setup), they knocked $10 off a corner, on top of a $70 Michelin bonus card (I THINK, not 100% certain), and they'll go on Thursday. I'll be very intrigued to see what they do.

I believe they have issues with street racing in that part of Vancouver. Richmond is home of lots rich Asian (mostly from Hong Kong and mainland China) and they have had issues with folks in their supercars doing a bit of street racing.

3-4 inches of wet snow visited us last night cancelling opening day at Yankee Stadium while gifting me with hopefully my last spring session with snowblower and shovel in NW CT.

Was invited to the Car and Driver, Road & Track New York Auto Show dinner on the 44th floor of the Hearst mother ship in Manhattan last week. Rob Sorokanich and Skip Barber were among those at our table.

Malcom Gladwell was the guest speaker. He's more of a car guy than we imagined as his brilliance was confirmed when he mentioned an E-39 M5 that he cherishes. :-) Eddie, who worked with Malcom on a previously published piece about autonomous cars was the interviewer. Malcom was an abstract reincarnation of Stephen Hawking in his global view of automobiles and public transportation. One of his autonomous concerns was not that the tragic recent loss of life would sidetrack autonomy but the danger of hacking by evil doers of whatever system is adopted to cause serious mayhem at the worst possible moment. Many moving parts when you look at the big picture and try to anticipate both the known and unknown, unknown's.

I don't understand how this is possible. I mean, I understand how Uber can silence the victim's family, but the courts?! Shouldn't the powers that be take this in their own hands, and make sure this is taken to its ultimate consequences?

There's only a case if an aggrieved party sues. If the aggrieved party is given enough money to bypass the burden of time, emotion and money required to sue a big corporation with many more resources it isn't hard to see a family that has lost a loved one taking a settlement.

There's only a case if an aggrieved party sues. If the aggrieved party is given enough money to bypass the burden of time, emotion and money required to sue a big corporation with many more resources it isn't hard to see a family that has lost a loved one taking a settlement.

I think we understand that, it's the legal system that has me confused. It shouldn't matter how much money is being waved around if there are criminal charges. And if there are none, I think investigators have dropped the ball.

IMO, this is no different than a worker being killed in the workplace by shoddy equipment. The employer, in this case Uber, should be held accountable. I know if someone fell off of a lift here where I work, there would be government inspectors all over the plant, and possibly negligence charges laid.

I think we understand that, it's the legal system that has me confused. It shouldn't matter how much money is being waved around if there are criminal charges. And if there are none, I think investigators have dropped the ball.

IMO, this is no different than a worker being killed in the workplace by shoddy equipment. The employer, in this case Uber, should be held accountable. I know if someone fell off of a lift here where I work, there would be government inspectors all over the plant, and possibly negligence charges laid.

I think we understand that, it's the legal system that has me confused. It shouldn't matter how much money is being waved around if there are criminal charges. And if there are none, I think investigators have dropped the ball.

IMO, this is no different than a worker being killed in the workplace by shoddy equipment. The employer, in this case Uber, should be held accountable. I know if someone fell off of a lift here where I work, there would be government inspectors all over the plant, and possibly negligence charges laid.

First you'd have to have a set of rules and regulations that know the systems and set agreed on performance standards and then inspectors who know the systems and could tell if they met the standards. Neither of those exist yet.

The issue is finding criminal liability. I don't think Uber or Tesla or any of the companies testing these systems is trying to slide out a shoddy product that kills people onto their customers. That would be a very short sighted marketing strategy. This is the nightmare scenario we all knew was coming and now has to be dealt with. If my loved one was killed by one I'd be suing as well but there are going to be tragic fails that illuminate issues that still have to be sorted and the people developing these systems are more aware of this then anyone because their livelihoods depend on it.

I saw the video and thought heat sensing components would have anticipated the woman crossing the road but apparently heat sensing wasn't in their system. I also struggled to understand how, as a human, you'd choose to cross a dark road in the middle of the block directly in front of an approaching vehicle assuming it would stop or avoid you? In that context, from a legal standpoint, proving liability vs choosing a generous settlement becomes easier to understand.

It's amazing there haven't been more tragic fails given the complexity of these systems. Ultimately the companies are responsible, and paying a significant settlement reflects that, but proving they were criminally negligent testing a product they knew to be faulty is hard to prove.

Applying your standard of liability to every car built in the early 60's (hard dashboards with radio dials and switches that maimed, steering columns that impaled drivers, gas tanks that incinerated occupants upon impact etc) would have put every manufacturer out of business and every manager and employee in jail because those cars killed tens of thousands of people before they figured out how to make them safer.

First you'd have to have a set of rules and regulations that know the systems and set agreed on performance standards and then inspectors who know the systems and could tell if they met the standards. Neither of those exist yet.

The issue is finding criminal liability. I don't think Uber or Tesla or any of the companies testing these systems is trying to slide out a shoddy product that kills people onto their customers. That would be a very short sighted marketing strategy. This is the nightmare scenario we all knew was coming and now has to be dealt with. If my loved one was killed by one I'd be suing as well but there are going to be tragic fails that illuminate issues that still have to be sorted and the people developing these systems are more aware of this then anyone because their livelihoods depend on it.

I saw the video and thought heat sensing components would have anticipated the woman crossing the road but apparently heat sensing wasn't in their system. I also struggled to understand how, as a human, you'd choose to cross a dark road in the middle of the block directly in front of an approaching vehicle assuming it would stop or avoid you? In that context, from a legal standpoint, proving liability vs choosing a generous settlement becomes easier to understand.

It's amazing there haven't been more tragic fails given the complexity of these systems. Ultimately the companies are responsible, and paying a significant settlement reflects that, but proving they were criminally negligent testing a product they knew to be faulty is hard to prove.

Applying your standard of liability to every car built in the early 60's (hard dashboards with radio dials and switches that maimed, steering columns that impaled drivers, gas tanks that incinerated occupants upon impact etc) would have put every manufacturer out of business and every manager and employee in jail because those cars killed tens of thousands of people before they figured out how to make them safer.

Paragraph by paragraph:

1) Agreed that nothing has been laid out in regulations yet.

2) Criminal liability: Reports have been made (specifically by Aptiv Plc, maker of the sensors) that Uber disabled the standard safety systems. Link

3) Woman crossing on "dark road in the middle of the block". Those dashcam videos of a dark and gloomy road are simply due to a poor camera, not the conditions. Read this report which shows much more clearly the reality of the conditions at the time. While not condoning walking into the path of a vehicle, there is no reason on earth why the car, or the safety driver (had she paying any attention at all) would not have seen her approaching.

4) Agreed

5) A specious argument at best. There was no new or groundbreaking technology on the cars of the 60's that was being tested on the roads - it was simply "ago". You can't compare eras in that manner.

2) Criminal liability: Reports have been made (specifically by Aptiv Plc, maker of the sensors) that Uber disabled the standard safety systems. Link

3) Woman crossing on "dark road in the middle of the block". Those dashcam videos of a dark and gloomy road are simply due to a poor camera, not the conditions. Read this report which shows much more clearly the reality of the conditions at the time. While not condoning walking into the path of a vehicle, there is no reason on earth why the car, or the safety driver (had she paying any attention at all) would not have seen her approaching.

4) Agreed

5) A specious argument at best. There was no new or groundbreaking technology on the cars of the 60's that was being tested on the roads - it was simply "ago". You can't compare eras in that manner.

1-4. The difficulty of proving liability and libelous actions are illustrated by our discussion. The courts don't care unless there are previous rulings being flaunted. You'd need one or more aggrieved parties devoting their lives for years to the heavy lifting of riding out a case like that and there would have to be a provable systematic failure or deception to rile up enough outrage and pain to endure and overcome the obstacles of legal proof.

5. Only brought it up to point out how our tolerance for automotive carnage has narrowed over the years as relative safety and reliability has dramatically improved. A parallel to the tolerance of numbers of pro race drivers who used to die back then vs now.

Tuesday - In typical Tire Rack fashion, my donuts are on their way to Classic BMW, and apparently due to arrive TODAY! Honestly, if I were any closer to their headquarters, that's one company I might really enjoy working for, if for no other reason than their dedication to service.

Coming north last week from NYC a rock did in the windshield of the BMW (small star that split several inches in two directions)

Insurance will cover it but the glass guy showed up today with the wrong windshield. The good news is he was smart enough to recognize the car had a rain sensing windshield and they'd sent him with one that was not rain sensing. Odd part was they asked for the VIN number which should have told them what was required.

The car is drivable so my only inconvenience is time but his base is over an hour drive away in Hartford so they aren't going to make much on my job. Hopefully the correct windshield will arrive Friday morning. Small town news.

You would think that, having to come that far, he would have brought the two different types of windshield with him. Unless they are special order, they should have at least one of each in stock.

Apparently there are three different E39 windshields, but that said, my impression is the volume of business they do means the people who take the orders and retrieve the glass are different from those who do the installations and that’s how he got hung out on this one

He’d also pre-applied primer adhesive around the edge of the glass before leaving to speed the process and that primer was now going to have to be removed with a messy time intensive process.

My good fortune is he was not a kid in the steep part of the learning curve. His knowledge caught someone else’s mistake before it became my problem other than the time delay.

Apparently there are three different E39 windshields, but that said, my impression is the volume of business they do means the people who take the orders and retrieve the glass are different from those who do the installations and that’s how he got hung out on this one

He’d also pre-applied primer adhesive around the edge of the glass before leaving to speed the process and that primer was now going to have to be removed with a messy time intensive process.

My good fortune Is he was not a kid in the steep part of the learning curve. His knowledge caught someone else’s mistake before it became my problem other than the time delay.

Experience wins the day again. An excellent catch on the tech's part. That would have been exceptionally inconvenient (and frustrating) for you had the installation proceeded.

Apparently there are three different E39 windshields, but that said, my impression is the volume of business they do means the people who take the orders and retrieve the glass are different from those who do the installations and that’s how he got hung out on this one

He’d also pre-applied primer adhesive around the edge of the glass before leaving to speed the process and that primer was now going to have to be removed with a messy time intensive process.

My good fortune is he was not a kid in the steep part of the learning curve. His knowledge caught someone else’s mistake before it became my problem other than the time delay.

Indeed, but does that include the 'Protection' windshield?

On another note, I was heartened to see many E39 Tourings still in regular use around Bavaria/Austria last month, even a rare 525tds M-Sport. This should keep the spares demand.

Did anyone see the newest post in the thread about MB cars and Takata airbags? There's a guy who has left his C350 parked in the garage for two years because he is afraid to drive it. How does one survive the rigors of the modern world living in abject terror like that? I honestly feel bad for him.

My E39 wagon had a recalled Takata steering wheel airbag that I drove for a couple of years until they finally replaced it.

Some of this is a function of what you can afford. I thought about parking my car but just couldn’t bring myself to do it as it would have been both expensive and very inconvenient. If there were other bags putting my family/passengers at risk it would have been a harder call but being the only one who drives the car it was easier to risk it.

If you have multiple vehicles or deep enough pockets you can choose to park it. Most of us don’t but I don’t think it’s a crazy choice to do so. The odds are in your favor that nothing will happen but if a Murphy’s Law collision occurred and you or a loved one were seriously injured or killed by the airbag it would be a very bad day.

If it was a clapped out Honda Civic, then I would tend to agree with you. This was a new MB C-Series.

I would guess there are many more new Mercedes owners (owning multiple vehicles) who might be able to afford to park their cars then clapped out Honda owners.

If this guy took a $40,000 depreciation hit by parking his brand new car you could also make the argument that he could have reduced that hit considerably by taking it back to the dealership 18 months ago and trading it for a drivable car that wasn't under recall.

It seems he had more options and having a drivable new car was less of a priority for him then it would have been for most of us.

Wednesday - Tire Rack's consistent performance continues to please me. The tires which were shipped Monday arrived at Classic BMW's dock mid-Tuesday morning! And tomorrow, they go on the Mustang, just like that.

I purchased from them in the past, and was also pleased with their performance and dedication to customer satisfaction. I no longer deal with them, however, simply because the shipping and duty coming across the border (not to mention the exchange rate) makes it cheaper to shop in Canada.

I purchased from them in the past, and was also pleased with their performance and dedication to customer satisfaction. I no longer deal with them, however, simply because the shipping and duty coming across the border (not to mention the exchange rate) makes it cheaper to shop in Canada.

Makes me wonder why Tire Rack doesn't set up shop in your neck of the woods. Might be worth it.

Makes me wonder why Tire Rack doesn't set up shop in your neck of the woods. Might be worth it.

Size of the consumer base - >300 million vs. >30 million and plus most folks (other than car enthusiasts) take their cars into Walmart and Costco and they are more than happy with their purchase. Most folks don't bother online shopping for tires because it's a hassle to them.

I have started to buy tires from an outfit called Quattro Tires. They have flat $18 shipping on all 4 tires. With the loony being depressed, as Al pointed out, it's cheaper to shop locally.

Size of the consumer base - >300 million vs. >30 million and plus most folks (other than car enthusiasts) take their cars into Walmart and Costco and they are more than happy with their purchase. Most folks don't bother online shopping for tires because it's a hassle to them.

I have started to buy tires from an outfit called Quattro Tires. They have flat $18 shipping on all 4 tires. With the loony being depressed, as Al pointed out, it's cheaper to shop locally.

I love Costco but they don't carry 18" plus wheels so I have to go local.

Size of the consumer base - >300 million vs. >30 million and plus most folks (other than car enthusiasts) take their cars into Walmart and Costco and they are more than happy with their purchase. Most folks don't bother online shopping for tires because it's a hassle to them.

I have started to buy tires from an outfit called Quattro Tires. They have flat $18 shipping on all 4 tires. With the loony being depressed, as Al pointed out, it's cheaper to shop locally.

I just saw an ad for Quattro a couple of days ago. What caught my eye mostly was that I surprised Audi hadn't trademarked that name. But then again, I think "quattro" is four in Italian, isn't it? Hard to trademark a number.

I just saw an ad for Quattro a couple of days ago. What caught my eye mostly was that I surprised Audi hadn't trademarked that name. But then again, I think "quattro" is four in Italian, isn't it? Hard to trademark a number.

I just saw an ad for Quattro a couple of days ago. What caught my eye mostly was that I surprised Audi hadn't trademarked that name. ...

Even if two marks are found to be confusingly similar, a likelihood of confusion will exist only if the goods and/or services upon which or in connection with the marks are used are, in fact, related. [...] To find relatedness between goods and/or services, the goods and/or services do not have to be identical. It is sufficient that they are related in such a manner that consumers are likely to assume (mistakenly) that they come from a common source. The issue is not whether the actual goods and/or services are likely to be confused but, rather, whether a likelihood of confusion would exist as to the source of the goods and/or services.https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/BasicFacts.pdf

Interesting that cars and car tires were not considered likely to cause confusion regarding source.

Even if two marks are found to be confusingly similar, a likelihood of confusion will exist only if the goods and/or services upon which or in connection with the marks are used are, in fact, related. [...] To find relatedness between goods and/or services, the goods and/or services do not have to be identical. It is sufficient that they are related in such a manner that consumers are likely to assume (mistakenly) that they come from a common source.

You mean like the way the US Army took the Vegas Golden Knights to court over their name? Apparently people were getting confused when they bought tickets, and didn't see any paratroopers jumping from the ceiling of the arena.

You mean like the way the US Army took the Vegas Golden Knights to court over their name? Apparently people were getting confused when they bought tickets, and didn't see any paratroopers jumping from the ceiling of the arena.

You are right, of course. Double standards and all that... I didn't mean anything myself, though, I was just trying to throw some light on the issue, by quoting the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Snow here too. BS, I say! Better still, later this morning, we are scheduled to have some of our old windows replaced. It's currently 25ºF, there is about 2" of snow on the ground, and it's actually still snowing. Sigh...

I saw on an Audi forum some guy got a new S5, which comes with performance tires, drove the car out with a dusting of snow on the ground, totalled the car when it slid sideways to a curb. I believe he was going under 30mph when it hit.

You guys are giving me a reality check. Here I am, needing just 3 more months before that pension is locked and I am good to go and I was going to finally close this brief nightmare and resume my life in WA State (already know where and what- right at the top of the State looking at the San Juan islands and Canada) and then you speak like this. Right now, on the left side of the Countryside it is 6:30 and 62*F. Do I really want to go back where it is green and beautiful but cold and raining (42^) right now? Down here, I sleep with the windows open, here the lighthouse horn in the distance and the waves of the Ocean, it does not suck, and I really am enjoying this. But the pay is crap, the taxes are high, and the place that I am at, although in a locked Community, is small and nowhere near the luxury that I could afford in the NW. even the pool, jacuzzi, sauna and fitness room down here are sweetening the deal, but I sure miss the seasons. Help me out here. Which would you guys prefer and why?

I personally love the cold (below 0C weather). If I had to retire in the US, I would pick the Sea-Tac area and followed by the The Bay area. I like being close to the ocean and being able to see the sunset. I lived in San Diego area, in my teen years, and I didn't care much for it. LA, errr no thanks.

Personal goal is have enough spare cash to own an Unicat or Actionmobil 6x6 RV and travel the world.

Yes, they can. If I had the cash, I would get one over the standard 40' units that litter the highways in the summer time. I think it would fantastic to see the world from the comforts of the living room.

On YouTube, there is a German couple that chronicles their travels in Africa, with their Actionmobil unit. Must be nice.

I bought something off Amazon and I didn't like the item, nothing wrong with the product, I just didn't like it. On the page, it says money back guarantee. I went to the order page and requested a refund, something I can usually do on the page and print the shipping label myself to ship back but this product won't let me. I emailed the manufacture and got no where. Emailed Amazon and said they will issue a refund and for my trouble, I get to keep it. I won't use it though since I don't like it.

So, I'm at the mall earlier today and I see this old guy shuffling through. Kind of looks homeless, but probably wasn't. He's using one of those mall issue child strollers as a makeshift walker. He's headed directly for the back end of a brand new Volvo XC 60 that is on display. I'm waiting for him to plow right into it, when he veers to the right at the last minute and stops behind it. He lifts up the rear wiper and puts something under it. He then continues shuffling away, leaving it stuck under the wiper. My first thought was that it was a small piece of paper with an inspirational message, left for someone to find and be enlightened by. As I was about to walk on by, curiosity got the better of me, so I reversed course to go and see what it was. Lo and behold, it was a candy wrapper; possibly butterscotch, based on the color and size. I pulled it out and brought it to the closest trash can just as old man litterbug was shuffling past it himself. My mind now turned to what had transpired and how my action altered the butterfly effect of all of this. On the one hand, I could have merely finished the task of a lazy old dude who thought a Volvo was a suitable place to discard trash. On the other, that wrapper could have been a very important signal, left for a very specific person to see. Now that it isn't there, they will put a nefarious plot into place that will rain hellfire and brimstone down upon Syracuse. Of course, its absence might also cause the opposite to occur, and thereby, my removal of said wrapper has saved Syracuse, and perhaps the world, from untold terror. Hmm... Yeah, I'm running with that one. You're all welcome.

Oh, so you're thinking you've stepped into the middle of a double blind drop orchestrated by the CIA/DIA/FBI/KGB/MI5 - pick your TLA. I'd be looking over my shoulder for the next few weeks, Jim. And maybe buy a mirror on a long handle to look under your car before you start it up.

Oh, so you're thinking you've stepped into the middle of a double blind drop orchestrated by the CIA/DIA/FBI/KGB/MI5 - pick your TLA. I'd be looking over my shoulder for the next few weeks, Jim. And maybe buy a mirror on a long handle to look under your car before you start it up.

Oh, so you're thinking you've stepped into the middle of a double blind drop orchestrated by the CIA/DIA/FBI/KGB/MI5 - pick your TLA. I'd be looking over my shoulder for the next few weeks, Jim. And maybe buy a mirror on a long handle to look under your car before you start it up.

Pay someone you don't like to start up your car, and never touch the cigarette lighter... Disable your GPS, buy a burner phone, take different routes home, check the house for electronic bugs... Oh, and Maarp forgot to mention the BND.

(Guess who grew up on the frontline of the Cold War...)

Alternatively, you could just have the starring role in a youtube video...

Pay someone you don't like to start up your car, and never touch the cigarette lighter... Disable your GPS, buy a burner phone, take different routes home, check the house for electronic bugs... Oh, and Maarp forgot to mention the BND.

(Guess who grew up on the frontline of the Cold War...)

Alternatively, you could just have the starring role in a youtube video...

Oh, so you're thinking you've stepped into the middle of a double blind drop orchestrated by the CIA/DIA/FBI/KGB/MI5 - pick your TLA. I'd be looking over my shoulder for the next few weeks, Jim. And maybe buy a mirror on a long handle to look under your car before you start it up.

He obviously missed the microchip that contained a camera and now his face is all over the dark web underground. Jim, you are going to have to move to France and buy a Mini and drive in subway tunnels.

Pay someone you don't like to start up your car, and never touch the cigarette lighter... Disable your GPS, buy a burner phone, take different routes home, check the house for electronic bugs... Oh, and Maarp forgot to mention the BND.

(Guess who grew up on the frontline of the Cold War...)

Alternatively, you could just have the starring role in a youtube video...

I’ve already gotten false passports with various aliases. The plastic surgeon begins work tomorrow. I just need to liquidate my assets so that I can pay for everything with cash. This message will self destruct.

You better run. Don’t look back. I know nothink. You dare to challenge the Sheriff? If he says 5 is a letter, I would not argue with him. He is knowing and powerful. Better take your little dog and leave Oz as fast as you can. I can already hear him.

I’ve already gotten false passports with various aliases. The plastic surgeon begins work tomorrow. I just need to liquidate my assets so that I can pay for everything with cash. This message will self destruct.

That is because it is NPR. And if you go with Fox, it will be all winners. We need a Kumbaya Channel. I used to love to watch the Brits in their Parliament debate (was it House of Commons)? Every Sunday night, someone would say something and half the House would say in unison, “Hear Hear”. Then there would be a response and the other half would start up. They probably went to a Pub afterwards.

Indeed, PMQs is real entertainment. There is a very good pub in the Westminster building, apparently.

Friday - Lesson to those here assembled: SOME TPMS sensors need a particular reset device when tires are changed. Turns out those on the wheels of my Mustang were among them. Classic BMW didn't have the right tool, but Classic Ford up the road a ways did, and between the two of 'em, I got all sorted out.

Hard to call it ESPN coverage as it's a straight passthrough of the Sky coverage. I'm still stewing about their ripoff of race fans.

I don't have as big a problem with the Sky passthrough as I do leaving rather abruptly after the race ends. But hey, cheerleading must go on. You live up near ESPN HQ. Go talk to them. You're very convincing.

I don't have as big a problem with the Sky passthrough as I do leaving rather abruptly after the race ends. But hey, cheerleading must go on. You live up near ESPN HQ. Go talk to them. You're very convincing.

I'm first pissed at F1 for awarding ABC/ESPN with a contract that lowballs their USA viewers.

ABC/ESPN was never looking to build a better mousetrap for the USA F1 fan. Their only interest was in marking up and taking the profit from someone else's mousetrap not geared to the USA market.

F1 is now owned by a media company that devalues it's USA fan base. Remarkably short sighted.

Saturday - Other than watching The Masters and very likely catching Paterno on HBO tonight, there isn't a lot on my plate today. Have to say, I am very intrigued to see what Al Pacino brings to that role and what the overall piece has to say about him and Penn State.

Could be mechanical failure, too. Let's not get ahead of ourselves and lay the blame. In the end, it doesn't matter what the law does to the guy. How could you ever get past something like this?

Exactly what I was thinking. The only thing is a statement from a local town councilor who lives about 8 km away from the intersection. He said there was another fatal accident at that same intersection a few years ago, so it might also not be clearly marked or something like that.

Sunday - The Masters yesterday looked like an episode of The Chip-In Show, with multiple wedge shots finding their way to the cup, sometimes from considerable distances. Leader Patrick Reed appeared to be especially good at this business, and I look forward to today's competition.

As for Paterno, it was ... disturbing ... and very much worth the watching.

Monday - Well, Reed wasn't able to break into the 60s for his fourth round, but he did well enough to hold off Fowler and Spieth (who was charging like topsy!) and earn himself a green jacket. Altogether, that was a pretty damned fine Masters, really.

Watching F1 with friends yesterday when my daughter and her boyfriend arrived at noon as expected. She immediately asked me to come outside as her car was "making a strange noise".

Stepped outside to find this in the driveway...

My daughter has loved the Elise/Exige since driving one when we used them years ago at Skip Barber for high performance driving schools. She and her (eventual husband) boyfriend decided to buy one together and contacted my friend who has two Loti and knows extensively the nuance of the different years and features. They found this clean 2005 Elise with 28,000 miles at a consignment dealer in Indianapolis. A friend out in Indy with mechanical knowledge went over with a list of things to check out. The owner claimed to have never tracked the car and they were able to download engine use data that confirmed that. The car is almost original with an upgraded sound system and grooved front rotors under stock calipers. It's as nice a version of that car as you could hope to find and in an adult color that doesn't make it look like a child's toy.

They drove it back over the weekend timing their surprise arrival during the F1 race. My two friends who were watching the race with us were in on it as one had been the original Lotus whisperer. My wife and I had no idea about the car, just that daughter and boyfriend were coming.

When my daughter and her boyfriend first started going out one of her first gifts to him was a very nice wooden Lotus shift knob on a small stand for his desk at work. Looks like she found the perfect accessory for that shift knob!

13 year old car but doesn't look dated. Very nice. Never driven or even sat in one.

They are light, fast and small. Mid engine power by Toyota means the motors are reliable and easily serviced. They handle like a go kart with a 6 speed manual tranny. The door sill overhang is deep and awkward to the degree that no one has every entered or exited one gracefully. Once inside, you are wearing a two seater formula car. You sit low to the ground in very snug seats with basic creature comforts. Heat, A/C and a radio. There are no fender liners so every pebble or piece of gravel can be heard bouncing off the wheel well.

Having said that you can't drive or ride in one without grinning and the same can be said of those who see you go by. The Elise has an easily removable hard top panel that transforms the claustrophobic cabin into a spacious warm weather summer car. There is a snap on soft top panel that travels with the car as there isn't enough room to stow the hard top but it's not a big deal as the soft top is modern day water tight.

As they progressed Lotus put a supercharger on the Toyota engine in the Exige and last years of the Elise that took it from quick to very quick. This car doesn't have the supercharger but her boyfriend is a mechanical engineer with a garage who races karts and Legends cars so bolting one in later is well within the realm of possibilities.

13 year old car but doesn't look dated. Very nice. Never driven or even sat in one.

I got to sit in one a couple years ago. Getting in and out with the roof on is tough, but it's doable, and I could at least see out of it (which is something I can't say for the NA-gen Miata I drove more recently).

Watching F1 with friends yesterday when my daughter and her boyfriend arrived at noon as expected. She immediately asked me to come outside as her car was "making a strange noise."

Wow! Not sure what to say other than congrats! Hope they enjoy it and drive the hell out of it.

The Elise has always been one of my dream cars, and a car that I think has been a little disrespected by fans of other exotic brands. I'm hoping to get an S2000 within the next couple years, which would be a stepping stone to an Elise (and hopefully then an Evora 400). I'd probably have to daily drive it to make it feasible, but I like doing things a bit differently anyway, so it would be fun.

I remember one day when I was a kid (I was probably eight or nine at the time), my dad was driving me to a friend's house. We were almost there when my dad pointed out a bright red car in someone's driveway and said "hey Nick look, a Lotus!" (This was right after Lotus had introduced the Elise to the American market, and it must have been one of the first Elises in America). I had never seen or heard of Lotus before, but I thought it was a really cool-looking car, especially to someone who just never saw cars like that because we lived in a working-class area of Raleigh at the time. Coincidentally, we saw the same Elise driving around later that day while running errands after my had picked me up from my friend's house. From that day forward, I started taking note of all the other cars on the road in hopes of seeing another Lotus, and I'd like to think seeing that red Elise is what sparked my interest in cars.

I got to sit in one a couple years ago. Getting in and out with the roof on is tough, but it's doable, and I could at least see out of it (which is something I can't say for the NA-gen Miata I drove more recently).

My buddy had a Murcielago and there is no cool way to get in and out of that thing and I'm skinny and short.

From what I have read, the S/C Motors have no internal mods to make it stronger so they must be stout enough to handle the blower without compromising reliability. It has been many years since I was in a Lotus. Once date a girl with a bright pink metallic Europa. Never was sure which one I would prefer to be seen with, the hot Blonde or the hot car.

For a while, an acquaintance had a BRG Europa parked on the street near where I lived. Not sure about how realiable it was, but I loved it.

From what I have read, the S/C Motors have no internal mods to make it stronger so they must be stout enough to handle the blower without compromising reliability. It has been many years since I was in a Lotus. Once date a girl with a bright pink metallic Europa. Never was sure which one I would prefer to be seen with, the hot Blonde or the hot car.

... Lotus put a supercharger on the Toyota engine in the Exige and last years of the Elise that took it from quick to very quick. This car doesn't have the supercharger but her boyfriend is a mechanical engineer with a garage who races karts and Legends cars so bolting one in later is well within the realm of possibilities.

I'll be attending the Hannover Fair later this month. I have few free days on the front and back end of the show including a couple in Amsterdam. I'm also planning a visit to the village that my family came from, Isenbüttel. The church my great great grandfather was baptized in still stands.

The River cruise will be fun. I've always wanted to do that. I've seen the riverboats docked in Budapest. They are definitely not designed for open seas, no freeboard to speak of.

I can't wait to hear your report about the cruise.

My wife and I have tickets for the Anne Frank House on the 22nd. We tried to see it 19 months ago but tickets are hard to get. We return back to Amsterdam to fly out the 30th.

We visited the Anne Frank House and found it a powerful moving experience.

Rembrandt House is also wonderful with active demonstrations such as print making and the mixing of mineral based oil paints from that era. The story of the museum/house is amazing. Rebrandt was a great artist but horrible business man. He went broke, lost the house and his possessions were liquidated. The fastidious Dutch created exhaustive lists of everything in the house before they were sold. That meant when the house was later purchased and restored to recreate his original workspace they were able to acquire and/or recreate much of what had been there due to those lists.

This trip we're going to revisit the Van Gogh Museum to see an exhibit exploring the influence of Japanese art on his work and also take in the Rijksmuseum for the first time.

The river cruise offers hikes, tours and bike trips at the various stops we make so we can do organized adventures with others or go off on your own.

We visited the Anne Frank House and found it a powerful moving experience.

Rembrandt House is also wonderful with active demonstrations such as print making and the mixing of mineral based oil paints from that era. The story of the museum/house is amazing. Rebrandt was a great artist but horrible business man. He went broke, lost the house and his possessions were liquidated. The fastidious Dutch created exhaustive lists of everything in the house before they were sold. That meant when the house was later purchased and restored to recreate his original workspace they were able to acquire and/or recreate much of what had been there due to those lists.

This trip we're going to revisit the Van Gogh Museum to see an exhibit exploring the influence of Japanese art on his work and also take in the Rijksmuseum for the first time.

The river cruise offers hikes, tours and bike trips at the various stops we make so we can do organized adventures with others or go off on your own.